Making a difference: Prosperity Investment Program

Making a difference: Prosperity Investment Program

Anh Nguyen, owner of Cha Lua Deli, tells her story at the Prosper Portland board meeting

The Prosper Portland board recently received an update on the Prosperity Investment Program (PIP), now in its second year. The program provides matching grant funds for small-scale real property improvements and business- and development-focused technical assistance that aligns with Prosper Portland’s 2015-2020 Strategic Plan and local community action plans.

Currently, 90 projects are complete, active, or in scoping; of these, 60 (67 percent) have been awarded to persons of color and 42 are first-time recipients. Of the 45 grant projects in progress or completed since tracking contracting efforts, 41 (91 percent) have used a minority or women-owned contractor.

The board heard moving testimony (video above) from Anh Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1992 after her father was released from a concentration camp. She is now the owner of Cha Lua Deli (on SE 82nd Ave. between Foster Rd. and Woodstock Blvd.) and a PIP grant recipient.